A federal judge has granted an injunction against a Michigan law that would …

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A Michigan law barring the sale of violent video games to minors became the first of three recently passed measures to be set aside by a judge. In a decision made Wednesday, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that the Michigan law was not likely to pass constitutional muster, and that the law would cause "obvious harm" if it were allowed to go into effect on December 1 as mandated.

Of particular interest is Judge George Steeh's opinion that the state of Michigan "has been unable to demonstrate the perceived harm it seeks to protect against." In other words, he seems skeptical of claims that there is a direct correlation between playing violent video games and acting violently. A study published in August called into question such claims, as it found that the test subjects had no greater acceptance of violent behaviors or increase in violence after playing video games.

The video game industry has fallen under increased scrutiny in the wake of the now-infamous Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" patch. That particular mod allowed players of GTA: SA to... get the main character's schwerve on with various females. Rockstar was forced to withdraw the game from the market and release a decaffeinated version after the ESRB removed the game's M for Mature rating.

Fallout from the Hot Coffee brouhaha gave more ammo to those who want the government to regulate the sale video games with violent and other "adult" content. It also moved the ESRB to make changes to its ratings system, including forcing developers to disclose and document all "easter eggs" and other hidden features.

Recently passed laws in Illinois and California will likely join Michigan's law on the sidelines. The California legislation has been challenged in court by the Entertainment Software Association, and given that Michigan's and other laws have consistently failed to run the First Amendment gauntlet, the ESA looks likely to prevail. Naturally, going after evil violent and sex-filled video games is an easy way for a politician to score points with voters, no matter how many times such laws are struck down. As a parent, I can see the attraction of having certain video game titles unavailable to children. However, the responsibility for what video games my children will play lies with me, not the ESRB, the government, or the retailers.